Quote Originally Posted by ajaxfetish
Giving them the command to attack in melee automatically turns skirmish off. If you want them to auto-skirmish again afterwards you'll need to switch it back on yourself. The melee attack command (alt + attack) works the same for any ranged unit, whether it be foot archers, javelineers, or even naphtha throwers. Just be careful when you do order horse archers to attack hand-to-hand, though, as most of them are very weak melee fighters.

Ajax
Do not forget about this! I was fighting a battle today as the Turks against the Eggies. The Eggies had 1 Ghulam Cav, 2 Peasants, and 1 Nubian Spear. I had 2 HA, (usually this is all I need). Well the battle started off well with my HAs peppering the Ghulam unit (which was the general btw). Well, the Nubians and one of the Peasants broke off to charge my HAs.

My one HA lobbed a couple of volleys into the attacking peasants and the Peasants looked like they were starting to waver, so I had my HA charge the Peasants and the Peasants immediately routed. I harassed them for a little and then went back to shooting the Ghulam Cav.

Unfortunately, while I was taking a peek at my other HA, the Eggies Ghulam Cav decided to charge the HA that was shooting at them. Well, the Ghulams slammed into my HA and decimated the unit. I ended up losing the battle.

My point? When I ordered my HA to melee with the Peasants the comp turned skirmish off. I forgot to turn it back on, thus my HA didn't maintain distance when the Ghulams charged them later on. Always keep an eye on what state your units are on to avoid situations like this.